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August 15, 2018 - Even this morning, I am greeted with a hearty breakfast: a great way to start the day. The weather forecast is not good at all, and thunderstorms are expected in the afternoon. I will have to hurry to try to get to Ariano Irpino before it starts raining.
In the cool of the morning, I descend from the hill and enter the town of Casalbore, which I didn't have a chance to visit the night before. There is still no one around, and I linger to wander. The square in the old part of the town is a little gem. I regret that the day before I was so exhausted that I lacked the energy to descend to the town.
I return to the present and start walking: for a moment, I forgot about the rain coming, I have to hurry! As we know, haste makes waste, and I make the same mistake as yesterday. In the middle of the descent, I stumble and fall clumsily. This time, I also manage to break the walking stick, which produces a deep cut in my arm. Dressing the wound takes a lot of time: all my plans to finish the stage quickly fade away. Next time, I'll have to take it more calmly!
Somehow patched up, I set off again. Along a descent that will lead me to the Miscano stream, stretches of asphalt alternate with well-maintained dirt roads.
The GPS track I have prepared turns sharply to the left towards an electrified fence beyond which there is a herd of cows. I check the satellite images again and am sure that the tratturo passes right there. From a distance, a boy who is taking care of the cows understands my perplexity and waves me to pass: it's the right direction.
I crawl under the electrified fence and continue on, with the cows moving aside, perplexed, as I pass. The descent towards the Miscano stream becomes a little steeper.
Obviously, every descent is followed by a climb and the one right after the stream is rather steep. Fortunately, the climb doesn't last long and then I start descending again towards a new stream. About halfway down, on the left, there should be a turnoff that leads directly to Foggia. However, whether because I'm distracted by a strange octagonal silo on the right or because black clouds are gathering behind me, I can't identify the starting point of the trail.
When I reach the SS90bis, I should continue descending a bit more towards the stream below, but the weather is turning decidedly bad and I prefer to take the paved road to speed up: oh well, I'll resume the trail a little further ahead after skipping a short section.
I start climbing again towards Ariano Irpino. The surrounding landscape is truly beautiful, made even more fascinating by the dark sky that threatens doomsday at any moment. As I run towards my destination, I come across the first (and only!) shepherd with his flock of sheep. We wave at each other from a distance and I'm sorry that I don't have time to stop and exchange a few words: we're both in a hurry, and that approaching storm looks serious.
The rest of the day is a race against time. Every time I turn around, the rain is getting closer, but by now Ariano Irpino is just around the corner, or so I thought. 500 meters from my destination, the dreaded downpour unleashes: I don't even have time to pull out my raincoat before I'm completely drenched. It's a real wall of water!
I ring the doorbell of the B&B and the lady who answers looks at me with wide eyes. I imagine the scene she must have found herself in: a poor guy, exhausted, soaking wet, and with a bleeding arm because the morning cut hasn't healed yet. When I think about it, I'm surprised she let me in! But her welcome turns out to be one of the warmest: when I come out of the shower, I find the table laid out with all sorts of delicious food. She tells me they're leftovers, but there's enough to feed two people! It's a real relief, because I wouldn't have been able to go out and look for a place to eat.
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Track of the day